Rohan says Yahoo would be able to cross sell its ads with Hulu inventory, turning itself into a "must-buy" destination for advertisers. With Yahoo's push towards premium original content, and video, a tie up between the companies makes sense.

We can think of another reason Yahoo would want a piece of Hulu, if not the whole thing. Time spent on Yahoo keeps sinking, while time spent on Hulu keeps rising. Owning Hulu could help Yahoo reverse the trend.

Could Yahoo buy Hulu outright? Hulu thinks it's worth $2 billion. Yahoo has $2.8 billion in cash and short term investments. It would have to blow out almost all its money to get the site, so probably not worth it. Plus, all the content companies might cut ties with Hulu once Yahoo owned it, making it a much less attractive property.

If Yahoo buys or invests in Hulu at all, it should try to get 5 year commitments from NBC, ABC, and FOX.